EVENTS

Three peaks were successfully ascended by our brave mountaineers in both good and awful conditions. See more here.

NEWS

Deb and Pam visited BCH again to advise on the physio project. Watch how a special chair transformed a little boy's life here.

FUNDRAISERS

The winning number in September's 100 Club draw is 37 and the prize is £40. Find out more and about how you could join here.

Children's Stories

Viktor's story

Vicki Hughes, a long-time supporter of Friends of BCH, travelled with trustees to Minsk for the opening of the new children’s palliative care centre, Forest Glade. She met a very special family and this is her account of the visit.

It is hard to imagine the thoughts and decisions facing a mother newly diagnosed with lymphoma, from a family already struggling with other cancers, who finds herself newly pregnant. Yuliya, this mother, had to make the decision to halt her own chemotherapy for the sake of her unborn baby. Yuliya’s baby, Viktor, was subsequently born with severe breathing difficulties, poor motor control of his limbs and likely mental impairments. With a new baby and 11 year old Dmitry to care for and little family or partner support, the Belarusian Children’s Hospice became a lifeline of care provision, understanding and education that enables the family to stay together at home.

Pavel's story

Pavel's parents wrote, 'The Belarusian Children's Hospice has given us a lot of support for our son Pavel over the last 10 years. He has a dedicated nurse and doctor and BCH provide him with medical supplies such as catheters, syringes, bandages, antiseptics and medicines. Our whole family enjoy social activities organised by BCH.

Pavel’s health has deteriorated in recent years but for the moment his condition is stable.

Thank you BCH.'

Lera's story

At the Belarusian Children's Hospice, the staff work tirelessly to make a sick child's all round quality of life as good as possible. This is the story of a special summer in the Tikhomirov family in the parents' own words.

‘On 15th August our daughter Lera, who uses a wheelchair to get around, set off for the first time in her life to have a holiday away from home. Her destination was the Stork Summer Holiday and Recreation Centre in Zabrodie about an hour’s drive from Minsk. The Stork Centre is part of the Belarusian Children’s Hospice and is a purpose-built complex for children and families in their care. Every summer, groups of children have the opportunity to meet other children there and have lots of fun together in the sunshine and fresh air.

Sergei's Story

Sergei is one of four brothers who live together with both parents. He is very communicative and likes being with people. Sergei cannot be left alone as he gets upset and starts crying. He is at his happiest when he is on someone's lap or in their arms and this is how he spends much of his time when he comes to BCH for respite care. At home, Sergei likes watching his elder brother playing computer games, sometimes for several hours at a time. The whole family turns around Sergei and his needs.

Tatyana's Story

Tatyana comes from a one parent family. Despite being blind she knows who her mother and grandmother are and can tell when unknown or new people are talking to her. Tatyana reacts very well to the spoken word and shows her pleasure when she is praised. She learned to smile quite late but is now smiling more and more often and sometimes breaks into chuckles. She also smiles during tactile stimulation and loves having her hair brushed. Tatyana is 9 years old.

Yevgenia's Story

Yevgenia has just had her 5th birthday. When she was a young baby, she had an infection in her central nervous system and, shortly afterwards, viral influenza. Doctors diagnosed cerebral palsy and impaired cognitive function. At age 2, Yevgenia started to have epileptic fits and could no longer hold up her head, smile or recognise people.

Valeria Krepskaya's Story

At 10 months old, Valeria was diagnosed with encephalomeningitis. Surgery revealed a cancerous brain tumour which was removed but, sadly, Valeria’s brain had been damaged. Her father was unable to cope with his daughter’s illness and left the family. Valeria’s mother remarried and Valeria has a baby sister called Uliana.

Valeria's Story

Valeria was born in the Belarusian town of Slutsk. She was a healthy baby weighing in at 3.2 kg and for the first couple of years grew and developed normally. When she was 2, Valeria contracted a bad throat infection that led to complications and in May of that year she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.

Alexei Petrachkov's Story

The young parents were thrilled with their firstborn son, a healthy little baby, yet before he reached his first birthday it became obvious that something was not right. Alexei was diagnosed with Hurler Syndrome, a genetic disorder which is the severest type of mucopolysaccharidosis and affects 1 in a 100,000 newborns.

Ksenia's Story

Little Ksenia would not be alive today if it were not for Friends of BCH and, of course, BCH itself. She was born in late December and for the first few months did not show any outward signs of the terrible genetic disease she had inherited.

Angelika's Story

On 1st September, the day that most children in Belarus go back to school after the long summer holidays, the Belarusian Children’s Hospice took on a new patient, a little girl called Angelika. She had had her 7th birthday in April and if it hadn’t been for her illness she would have been joining the other children who, at age 7, start school for the first time.